Rare reverse-decorated Blue and white dish. Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566)

With shallow sides rising to a slightly everted, rounded rim, painted in the interior with a roundel containing four cranes amidst scrolling clouds confronted around a stylized shou character, the exterior painted in similar fashion with a continuous frieze of cranes amidst clouds. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000

Notes: Two smaller Jiajing mark and period dishes decorated in very similar fashion are illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 241, nos. 9:54 and 9:55. A related, though larger, Jiajing-marked example with interior painted with cranes in flight above a rock and beneath a shou character, is illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1996, p. 224, no. 421.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 17 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com